The leaves fold at night and open again during the day.
Its small 1/2-inch five-petalled flowers are bright yellow.
It grows 6 to 15 inches tall and spreads by rhizomes to form dense mats.
Maria Mosolova / Getty Images
The plant, which is native to North America and Eurasia, is considered aweedthroughout the UnitedStates.
It is commonly found in lawns.
In mild climates, it grows year-round.
The Spruce / Mira Norian
Learn how to identify wood sorrel and promptly remove it from your yard before it spreads.
What Is Yellow Wood Sorrel?
Warning
Yellow wood sorrel is reported as invasive in Kentucky by the Kentucky Exotic Pest Plant Council.
The plant is toxic to dogs, cats, and horses.
The seed pod distributes the mature seeds as far as 10 feet.
Seeds also get stuck ongarden tools, clothing, pets, and other wildlife, transferring to other areas.
The seeds set from late summer through fall.
The roots are complex, far-reaching, and challenging to pull.
The stems, branches, and leaf stalks have fine hairs on them.
The plant forms in thick clumps.
Yellow wood sorrel foliage has a bright green color.
The small yellow five-petaled flowers bloom from mid-spring to fall.
The flower is about 1/2 inch in diameter.
The plant doesn’t usually grow taller than 20 inches.
How to Remove Yellow Wood Sorrel Weed
Yellow wood sorrel often plagues lawns and garden beds.
There are two ways to get rid of itmanually and with herbicides.
Herbicides
Post-emergent herbicides work best on this plant.
Other narrow-spectrum weed killers won’t affect wood sorrel.
Glyphosate kills all plants indiscriminately, so apply it with utmost caution.
Some gardeners brush the weed-killer by hand onto the leaves of the weed.
If you spray, use a small spray bottle to target on the weeds you want to kill.
Wait for a calm, windless day so the chemical won’t drift onto other plants.
Be careful with herbicides because they may have other ingredients.
tool is possible even in the fall when the weeds are preparing for winter.
It may take several applications to control yellow wood sorrel.
verify to follow the instructions on the label when using a herbicide.
Wood Sorrel vs. Clover
Yellow wood sorrel is easily mistaken for red or white clover.
One distinguishing feature is that yellow wood sorrel has heart-shaped leaves while red and white clover leaves are oval-shaped.
Also, the flowers of white clover are white, and red clover flowers are a deep pink color.
Wood sorrel is also often confused withshamrocks, another plant in the clover family commonly grown as a houseplant.
Another plant that is often mistaken for yellow wood sorrel is black medic, a cool-season summer annual.
It has three leaflets and small yellow flowers.
It is considered invasive to a certain extent.
It has a bright, tangy flavor.
North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension.
Common Yellow Wood Sorrel.
Plant Species Reported to be Invasive in Natural Areas List.
Kentucky Exotic Pest Plant Council.
Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States.
Missouri Department of Conservation.
